Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 13 July 2016.
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and we’re all acutely aware, clearly, of the benefits that the city deal and the south-east Wales metro would bring to the Valleys areas of Wales. The risks to that development following Brexit we’ve rehearsed ad infinitum in the Chamber, so I’m not going to dwell on those. However, we have welcomed in this Chamber the announcement of the formation of the ministerial Valleys taskforce, a key component of which is building stronger transport links. Despite the existence of local transport plans, which sometimes seem to be limited in vision to individual local authority areas, bus transport across the Valleys remains an issue. I was given an example the other day where to get to Aberdare from New Tredegar, the bus journey would take more than two hours and takes you via Pontypridd. Would the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that any opportunity to reregulate bus services in Wales arising from the Wales Bill would provide a golden opportunity to ensure that, as new employment opportunities are created in the south-east Wales Valleys, those who only have access to public transport are not excluded from seeking to take up such opportunities because of poor, slow and infrequent bus services?